Blood results, don't give up

[Bilpol]

Hi everyone im new here but I'm not new to thyroid problems.my first encounter with the little troublemaker started when i was 18 years old which was 43 years ago when i had to have a partial thyroidectomy followed by radiation treatment .I thought my problems were over until 33 years later what thyroid I had left decided to rear its ugly head once more.I am now 61 and for the past 2 to 3 years i have been constantly fighting my GPs over my blood results. I started on 125mcg of thyroxine and i thought i was doing fine until the bloods said I needed to drop the 25mcg off,i was taking to much.I've been fine until roughly 3 months ago when my routine bloods once again said I needed to drop down to 75mcg,which I did for 3 weeks before realising that my body couldnt function,I couldn't sleep yet i was so tired,I was moody,angry I had no energy,not good when myself and my husband's look after our 2 year old grandson throughout the day.I had been on 75s for 3 weeks. After a visit to my GP and a begging phone call as well,i finally convinced her to let me go back on 100mcg with the promise that I had bloods done again 8 weeks later. I have just been to see my GP 2 days ago to get the most recent results.the blood work did show that i was right i did need 100mcg and my body also told me the amount I needed to function normally.I'm one of the lucky ones ive been on thyroxine for many years and i can also tell when I need less it's just sad that many GPs are adamant when the numbers say one thing but the patient feels differently but are not being listened too.my GP has said that she will never question me over my bloods again because I know my own body.I know its hard when your body tells you one thing but your lab results tell you another but keep trying dont give up,as my GP says you know your body better than anyone else.

[birkie]

Hi

I wouldn't believe an NHS blood result...and why do they umberella everyone and put us all in the same boat..everyone is different but gps,consultants don't recognise this...very bad for us it's bad enough having thiyroid issues without fighting GP and consultants...😡😡😡

[greygoose]

What does she test? Just TSH?

[Nanaedake]

Do you make sure you do your blood tests as advised on this forum? If you take any supplements then check they don't include biotin as it can interfere with thyroid blood tests.

Thyroid blood tests done correctly should give accurate results. Symptoms are not always a good guide because they can be similar in a number of conditions. But if it works for you then OK for you but wouldn't advocate it for everyone...

The question is, have you had your basic vitamin levels tested? These can often be low in thyroid patients and cause similar symptoms or reveal coexisting conditions.

[SlowDragon Administrator]

There's recent incorrect obsession by many GP's to reduce Levothyroxine to bring TSH up from being suppressed

But thousands of patients on Levothyroxine need higher dose Levothyroxine with FT4 near top of range and low TSH inorder to get enough FT3

Low vitamins are common too and can affect results

Suggest you get full Thyroid and vitamin testing 6-8 weeks after dose was increased back to 100mcg

For full Thyroid evaluation you need TSH, FT4 and FT3 tested. Also very important to test vitamin D, folate, ferritin and B12

Low vitamin levels are extremely common, especially if been on too low a dose

Recommended on here that all thyroid blood tests should ideally be done as early as possible in morning and fasting. This gives highest TSH, lowest FT4 and most consistent results. (Patient to patient tip, best not mentioned to GP or phlebotomist)

Last Levothyroxine dose should be 24 hours prior to test, (taking delayed dose immediately after blood draw).

Is this how you do your tests?

Private tests are available. Thousands on here forced to do this as NHS often refuses to test FT3 or antibodies or all vitamins

thyroiduk.org.uk/tuk/testin...

Medichecks Thyroid plus ultra vitamin or Blue Horizon Thyroid plus eleven are the most popular choice. DIY finger prick test or option to pay extra for private blood draw. Both companies often have special offers, Medichecks usually have offers on Thursdays, Blue Horizon its more random

Come back with new post once you get results and ranges

You may need to improve low vitamins by supplementing. Members can advise on next steps

[Gismo333]

Hi Bilpol, sorry to hear your distress but you are not alone. To start with blood testing is extremely inaccurate. The reason is they are measuring blood serum levels and not monitoring the amount of thyroid hormone which enters the cells. This can only be monitored by your resting pulse first thing in the morning and also your symptoms, this is what you treat not the blood test results. The reason you have been reduced in thyroid hormone is probably due to a build up of thyroid hormone in your blood. If your cortisol levels are not up to par your T4 will not convert to the active hormone T3. This is what happened to me. My advice would be to get a saliva test done for your cortisol levels from Genova UK and if it is low then maybe a natural supplement like Nutri Adrenal Extra and then after a couple of weeks change your thyroxine to a natural thyroid hormone which contains all 4 atoms and not just one. The body makes T4, T3, T2 ad T1. If you don't get on with a natural thyroid hormone then just add T3 to your T4. It can be easily bought online and shipped to the UK. I hope this all helps you understand.